…through Jesus Christ our Lord …
Jude is nearing the end of his letter and his doxology. Today he tells us something very important and also very mysterious. Everything God does is through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Several questions come to mind. How does Jude know this? What does it mean? How does this work?
The reason I say that this is “mysterious” is that some things are beyond our ability to know. We can guess, and we can surmise, but we can’t know. Even though this is beyond our ability to know the answer directly, God has given us some clues in his Word.
In John 1, verse 1-3 John writes:
”In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made.”
The Word, John explains in verse 14, is Jesus. He tells us that Jesus existed before the creation of the world, that he was with God and he is God. This logic has no corollary in our physical existence. There is nothing that explains how two separate beings can be the same person.
Imagine being a fish who can think and talk like a person. Swimming around the aquarium the fish sees what is in the water and what is outside the tank. The world outside the tank is there, but the fish cannot touch it or know it personally. When people walk around the aquarium the fish sees movement, but cannot know who the people are or how they are related.
Now imagine that the aquarium is huge, like those at the zoo or Sea World. A person puts on diving gear and swims with the fish. They explain to the fish that they are in a tank called an aquarium. What keeps them alive are people outside who provide food, maintain the tanks, and keep the machinery going that cleans the water. The fish has to choose whether to believe what it is told or pass it off as too fantastic to believe.
Similarly, we live in a world within a larger spiritual universe. We are surrounded by spiritual beings both good and bad. There are things that affect us that we cannot know directly. We see the effect, but we do not always recognize it.
God’s Word tells us that everything was created through Jesus Christ. Like the fish in the aquarium, we cannot “know” first hand how things outside the aquarium work. We have to trust the man who came from heaven, Jesus. The people he lived with and talked to have taken the time to share what he told them.
Application: Believe what the Bible tells us about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
Food for Thought: What is the danger of adding to what the Bible tells us about God?
When we add to what God has revealed about Himself in His word – we distort a true understanding of God. God is the only authority on who He is. We can only grasp what He reveals about Himself. When we add to that revelation we are saying we know more about God than God Himself. We end up usurping His authority and perverting the truth. This is very dangerous to ourselves and to others who may follow our lead. We can trust His word, because it is His revelation and not of human origin. 2 Timothy 3: 16 – 17; 2 Peter 1: 20 – 21.
Rich,
Thank you! Satan himself started this trend of spreading false information. Eve would not have thought to disobey God except for Satan enticing her. He does not let up. He dogged Israel all through their existence and has worked every day since to distract and confuse Christ’s church. There will be no end to it until our Lord comes again.
👍🏻
Rich rises early, and he is consistently right. A great example and tough act to follow. We are called to share Gods word not ours. The Holy Spirit will use each of us to break it down into words others will understand without changing His message. John 16:13
Those preaching Gods truths will be blessed, Acts 4:24-33.
Those who contaminate Gods word by action or words are cursed and face judgement, Proverbs 30:5-6, Galatians 1:8-9.
Thank you Ron. I appreciate the encouragement and I always appreciate your input. Well said. And thank you Jeff for the added comments.